Business Risk Services - Ernst & Young - Australia

As internal audit transforms its delivery of value, a key focus is on improving processes and developing the right controls. This publication is the third in our series of articles on transforming internal audit (pdf, 441.9kb) . It covers how to align the function of internal controls with the actual behaviours across your organisation - identifying gaps between what you want to happen and what is happening, and then addressing them.

With internal audit increasingly being called on to demonstrate value, assessing the maturity of the function is an important first step. This publication is the second in our series of articles on transforming internal audit (pdf, 537.1kb) . It takes an in-depth look at the first component of the Ernst & Young internal audit transformation model - assessment, exploring how a maturity model can be used to bridge the gap between current internal audit practice and the desired future level appropriate for your organisation.

Despite the investment in risk management over recent years, companies can still find themselves blindsided by the risks that really matter. After the events of 2008, how can we be confident that risk management is still effective? Is risk management broken? (pdf, 492kb) investigates if risk management has failed, the underlying causes, and the lessons we can learn from the financial crisis.

Is your internal audit function delivering tangible value, providing assurance against the risks that matter and supporting business strategy? This publication is the first in our series of articles on transforming internal audit (pdf, 305.1kb)  and it introduces the model and the accompanying value proposition. At its core is the aim to broaden internal audit’s focus to include strategic and operational risk as well as business improvement, without compromising compliance.

The results of 2008 Global Internal Audit Survey (pdf, 936kb) confirms that there continues to be tremendous opportunities in the internal audit marketplace. Executive management and the audit committee continue to look to internal audit for balanced focus between compliance and business improvement.

Many organisations have struggled to implement their well designed ERM systems because they failed to factor in change management. In a series of three articles – Part one: assessing your risk management maturity (pdf, 717kb), Part two: improving risk culture (pdf, 422kb), Part three: Monitoring cultural change (pdf, 1mb), we will examine the vital role that an organisation’s culture plays in delivering effective risk management.

In the current climate, organisations must form a strategic view of the risks they are facing and develop their thinking about how to manage those risks if, and when they actually occur. The 2009 Ernst & Young business risk report identifies the top 10 risks for global business. It is designed to fuel the discussion that urgently needs to happen in every organisation.